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Iran said it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels, but questions lingered about how much freedom ships actually had to transit the waterway as Tehran maintained its grip on who got through and threatened to close it again if the US kept in place its blockade of Iranian ships and ports.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that ships would use routes designated by the Islamic Republic in coordination with Iranian authorities, suggesting Iran planned to retain some level of control over the channel. It was not clear if vessels would have to pay tolls.
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said the American blockade "will remain in full force" until Tehran reaches a deal with the US, including on its nuclear programme.
Iranian officials said the blockade was a violation of last week's ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US. The strait "will not remain open" if the blockade continues, Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said.
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The US military is preparing to board the Iran-linked ships in the Strait of Hormuz region according to a report by Wall Street Journal.
Hezbollah denied involvement in the "ceasefire violation" reported by the Israeli Defence Forces that said it struck saboteurs approaching the yellow line in Southern Lebanon.
(Source: Bloomberg)
US President Donald Trump said that the US has "conversations going well" with Iran regarding the end of the war. He also claimed that regime change in Iran was "enforced" and that he will have some information by the end of the day.
(Source: Bloomberg)
Iran's Mizan News Agency stated the country has said it will not open the Strait of Hormuz unless the US blockade of the area ends.
Iran's Ambassador was summoned by India’s MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) over the firing on India flagged oil vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Two Indian vessel were forced back from the Strait of Hormuz in the north east of Oman, according to NDTV reports. The reports also stated that Iran had declared the Strait closed.
The Israeli Defence Forces stated that its ceasefire with Lebanon was violated "several times", saying that it struck saboteurs approaching the yellow line in Southern Lebanon.
(Source: Bloomberg)
Up to 23 ships have turned back since the US blockaded the Strait of Hormuz according to US Central Command statements cited by Bloomberg.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency stated that it got a report of a tanker being fired upon by two gunboats with alleged ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The captain of the tanker stated that the gunboats fired upon them without issuing a radio challenge, as per the UKMTO's advisory note. The tanker and its crew were reported to be safe.
(Source: Al Jazeera)
Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir has concluded his three-day visit to Iran as part of Islamabad’s efforts to resolve the conflict between the US and Iran.
Munir, who was heading a high-level delegation to Iran, landed in Tehran on Wednesday, becoming the first foreign military leader to visit the country since a two-week ceasefire was agreed between Iran and the US on April 8.
During the visit, Munir held discussions with Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian and also met with Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the military’s media wing said on Saturday.
Schools have been closed across Iran since the United States and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, with no word on when in-person instruction will resume. The fear of airstrikes has lifted since a fragile ceasefire went into effect, but life has not returned to normal.
As with the COVID closures six years ago, it's especially difficult for working parents with small children. The war killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, including more than 165 people killed in a strike on an elementary school.
In the Iran war, mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main points: Iran's nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.
Trump on Friday suggested Iran has agreed to hand over its enriched uranium.
“The USA will get all the nuclear dust,” Trump said in a speech in Arizona. “We're going to get it by going in with Iran with lots of excavators.”
Israel's hard-line Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said Israel would continue to hold all the places where it is currently stationed, including a buffer zone extending 10 kilometres (6 miles) into southern Lebanon. He said many homes in the area would be destroyed, and Lebanese residents would not return.
Hezbollah has said Lebanese people have “the right to resist” Israeli occupation and that their actions “will be determined based on how developments unfold.”
In Beirut, celebratory gunshots rang out at the start of the truce. Displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.
The Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon had reported sporadic artillery shelling in some parts of southern Lebanon in the hours after the ceasefire took effect.
The ceasefire in Lebanon could clear one major obstacle to an agreement between Iran, the United States and Israel to end the war. But it was unclear to what extent Hezbollah would abide by a deal it did not play a role in negotiating and which will leave Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.
Trump said in another post that Israel is “prohibited” by the US from further strikes on Lebanon and that “enough is enough” in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The State Department said the prohibition applies only to offensive attacks and not to actions taken in self-defence
Trump imposed the blockade as part of his effort to force Iran to open the strait and accept a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire to end almost seven weeks of war that has raged between Israel, the US and Iran.
The president's decision to continue the blockade despite Iran's announcement appeared aimed at sustaining pressure on Tehran as the fate of the two-week ceasefire reached last week remained uncertain.
Direct talks between the US and Iran last weekend were inconclusive, as the two nations could not agree about Iran's nuclear program and other points.
Trump suggested a second round of talks could happen this weekend.
Esmaeil Baghaei, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, "Enriched uranium is as sacred to us as the soil of Iran, and it will not be transferred anywhere under any circumstances."
Esmaeil Baghaei, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:@IRIMFA_SPOX
— Iran in India (@Iran_in_India) April 18, 2026
“Enriched uranium is as sacred to us as the soil of Iran, and it will not be transferred anywhere under any circumstances.” pic.twitter.com/f7yx14B9ZH
Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the Strait of Hormuz would not remain open if the United States kept up what Tehran called a naval blockade, pushing back against President Donald Trump's claims that the vital waterway was fully open and that wider negotiations were close to a breakthrough.
US President Donald Trump: We've been pushed around by Iran for 47 years — but not anymore.
.@POTUS: "We've been pushed around by Iran for 47 years — but not anymore." 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IeJcxAoJW7
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 18, 2026
On the question whether there going to be restrictions and tolls in Hormuz managed by Iran for ships and vessels passing through?" The US President said, "Nope. No way... The restriction is you can't do the tolls. No, there's not gonna be tolls."
REPORTER: "On the Strait — are there going to be restrictions and tolls managed by Iran for ships and vessels passing through?"@POTUS: "Nope. No way... The restriction is you can't do the tolls. No, there's not gonna be tolls." pic.twitter.com/PaTpnFPOr2
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 18, 2026
In a post on social media platform Truth Social, US President Donald Trump wrote, "President Xi is very happy that the Strait of Hormuz is open and/or rapidly opening. Our meeting in China will be a special one and, potentially, Historic. I look forward to being with President Xi — Much will be accomplished!" - President DONALD J. TRUMP."
“President Xi is very happy that the Strait of Hormuz is open and/or rapidly opening. Our meeting in China will be a special one and, potentially, Historic. I look forward to being with President Xi — Much will be accomplished!” - President DONALD J. TRUMP pic.twitter.com/wQkYuttGfV
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 18, 2026
The ceasefire in Lebanon could clear one major obstacle to an agreement between Iran, the United States and Israel to end the war. But it was unclear to what extent Hezbollah would abide by a deal it did not play a role in negotiating and which will leave Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.
Trump said in another post that Israel is "prohibited" by the US from further strikes on Lebanon and that "enough is enough" in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The State Department said the prohibition applies only to offensive attacks and not to actions taken in self-defence.
Direct talks between the US and Iran last weekend were inconclusive, as the two nations could not agree about Iran's nuclear programme and other points. Trump suggested a second round of talks could happen this weekend.
"The Iranians want to meet," he said in a brief telephone interview with the news outlet Axios. "They want to make a deal. I think a meeting will probably take place over the weekend."
Iranian officials said the blockade was a violation of last week's ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US. The strait "will not remain open" if the blockade continues, Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, posted on X early Saturday.
In a post on X, he raised the following:
1- The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false.
2- They did not win the war with these lies, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either.
3- With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open.
4- Passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be conducted based on the "designated route" and with "Iranian authorization."
5- Whether the Strait is open or closed and the regulations governing it will be determined by the field, not by social media.
6- Media warfare and engineering public opinion are an important part of war, and the Iranian nation is not affected by these tricks. Read the real and accurate news of the negotiations in the recent interview of the Foreign Ministry spokesman.
A senior official in the Trump administration tells US media that negotiations with Iran are expected to be held on Monday in Islamabad, reports Al Jazeera.
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